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The way way back
14-year-old Duncan reluctantly goes on summer vacation to a beach house in a small seaside town near Cape Cod with his mother, Pam, her boyfriend Trent and Trent's daughter Steph. Trent verbally and emotionally abuses Duncan, often making comments and gestures that are belittling and rude to him. On the way to the beach house, Trent asks Duncan to rate himself on a scale of one to ten, and tells Duncan he thinks Duncan is a three. They arrive at the beach house and are greeted by the neighbors, hard-drinking Betty, her children Susanna and Peter, and married couple Kip and Joan. Later that evening, Duncan and Susanna have an awkward conversation from their adjacent porches. Duncan discovers a pink, sparkly girl's bike in the garage of the beach house and begins exploring the town. He eventually runs into the staff of the local water park, Water Wizz, at a pizza joint. He has a brief interaction with the manager, Owen, while Owen is playing Pac-Man. Owen takes Duncan under his wing and shows him around the park. Duncan is introduced to the park's colorful, rag-tag group of employees: Caitlyn, Lewis, and Roddy. Several kids at the water park speak reverently of a legendary pass in the tube slide, wondering how it could have been done. Owen hires Duncan for odd jobs at the Water Wizz. Outside the park, Duncan is continually abandoned by his mother, Pam, who indulges in drinking, staying out at night, and smoking marijuana with other adult vacationers. At a Fourth of July cookout, Susanna sees that he is upset about this and invites him to go hunting for ghost-crabs with her and Peter, where she talks about her absent father and helps Duncan to open up. Later that night, Duncan witnesses Trent and Joan kissing by the side of the house, but does not reveal what he saw. Pam begins to suspect Trent and Joan are having an affair, but Trent convinces her nothing is going on. Later, Duncan confronts Pam in front of friends and neighbors and tells her to face up to Trent's affair and get rid of him. Trent in turn tells Duncan his divorced father doesn't want him. Duncan stalks away. Susanna follows him and comforts Duncan out on the beach. Duncan attempts to kiss Susanna, but she moves away, which makes him become even more upset. Accompanied by Peter, Duncan sneaks away to Water Wizz where Owen is throwing a going away party for Lewis. After spending all night with his friends at Water Wizz, Duncan is still at the park the next morning, refusing to leave. Owen confronts him and asks him why he doesn't want to go home. Duncan opens up to Owen about his relationship with Trent and how the water park is the only place where he is happy. Owen sympathizes with Duncan's problems, saying that he grew up with an emotionally abusive father, which led to his disdain for patterns and rules. He tells Duncan there's a big world out there, and Trent's nasty remarks are more about himself than Duncan. When Duncan arrives back at the beach house, Pam tells him they're leaving with Trent. Betty and her kids arrive to say their goodbyes. Susanna finally kisses Duncan, admitting that she "was just surprised" when she avoided his kiss earlier. When Trent stops for gas on their way out of town, Duncan jumps out of the station-wagon and runs to Water Wizz, followed by his mother, then Trent and Steph. Duncan tells Owen and the other employees that he has to leave and tells Owen to follow him. He takes Owen to the Devil's Peak slide, and Duncan becomes the first person to ever pass someone in the water slide while the rest of the park watches. After finally introducing Owen to his mother, Duncan says goodbye to everyone at the park. Owen tells Pam she has a great kid, and introduces himself to Trent as "a good friend of the three." Trent, Steph, Pam, and Duncan regroup in the car, and head out of town. Pam climbs into the backseat of the car and they share a smile as Trent's protests are heard in the background.